Firstly fathead (?) welcome to the club.
If there is much motorway riding I'd go for a faired bike. Maybe worth considering an ST2 also.
An SS may be a bit too "sports bike" to begin with, though they are not too extreme like say a 916.
The engines are fine around town - it's more a V twin thing than the SS engine, but the smaller engines are less lumpy at low revs, you'll soon get used to it. Don't know why it would spit you off at a roundabout though.
Which ever you get you won't be disappointed. Don't worry about the clutch, the dry ones are fine as long as they are cleaned of dust from time to time.
Happy riding.
[Edited on 16-6-2004 by STEVE M]